For a franchise who has struggled mightily with the long-ball over the past few seasons (33.2% in 2016-17, 34.8% in 2015-16, and 34.1% in 2014-15), Troy Daniels – the guy who famously trash-talked Devin Booker in Memphis – might be the offensive breath of fresh air the offense has long needed.
So far through only two games in the 2017 preseason, not only has Daniels cemented himself as unafraid to almost entirely play as an outside shooter specialist, but has done so with amazing results. Shooting 10-17 for 58.8% from 3-point range so far, if he gets the ball beyond the arc with only a glimpse of the basket, not only is he going to take the shot, but odds are he is going to make it.
Phoenix Suns
Of course it is very unlikely that he shoots over 50% from three this season and he likely will not get the opportunity to take anywhere near the 697 shot attempts that he would be on pace for if these first two games counted. But there is no reason to not believe otherwise that he will take, and make, a lot of 3-pointers this season. Daniels has a track record that proves that he will be a solid shooter for the Suns for as long as they employ him.
In his brief career he is a 40.6% shooter from outside, which is, fascinatingly, a better shooting percentage than from within the arc where he shoots only 38.0%.
Think about that for a second: whereas most players get better when they get closer to the hoop, Daniels gets worse.
This isn’t just a flukish statistic either. Last season in Memphis, Daniels drained 38.9% from beyond the arc and 33.6% from within. The season prior – with Charlotte – he drained a fantastic 48.4% from 3-point range, and 46.2% from 2. The 3-point shooting percentage would be the franchise record had he shot enough to qualify.
It is that 3-point shooting percentage specifically that should really get Suns fans excited about his season and future in Phoenix. Those high percentages aren’t because he took only a handful of shots providing only a minuscule sample size. On the contrary – Daniels has attempted 620 three’s in his career, 355 last season alone, and 122 in Charlotte. And even that total number is a little negatively skewed because he appeared in only five games his rookie season with Houston (although even in that brief stint he made and attempted 12-25 from three for 48.0%).
So are there any players in recent Suns history who Daniels might end up comparing to this season depending on the season he has?
For the kind of player that he is, it is hard to not see Daniels as the next Quintin Richardson for the Suns, whose soul purpose on the 2004-05 roster was to jack up as many three’s as he can (226-631, both far and away franchise records).
‘Q’ too would jack up 217 more three’s than two’s that season which again is an amazing stat when you think about it. Should Troy Daniels’ role be that of only a sharp-shooting specialist, we might expect a similar ratio, and who knows, maybe even similar attempt numbers (although based on previous history, he should have a better shooting percentage.
Next: Three potential trade targets for the Phoenix Suns atthe shooting guard position
So, with a percentage and the likelihood that he doesn’t shoot quite as many three’s as Q did, maybe Daniels can be better compared to the 04-05 Joe Johnson who shot 47.8% from three on 177-370 from beyond the arc. It seems entirely possibly that if Daniels only attempts around 350 three’s that his shooting percentage could be similarly high. The only difference of course being that Johnson had the benefit of Steve Nash driving and dishing giving J.J. tons of space. Daniels will not have that luxury, thus reaching the Joe Johnson numbers will be difficult.
Regardless of who in Suns lore Daniels might compare to, he too could find a place all to his own, scratching out a legacy in Phoenix that is comparable to none that has preceded him. At this point we’ll just have to wait and see, and with the team recently having such poor outside shooting numbers, the addition of the young Troy Daniels is sure to finally help get this franchise’s poor shooting numbers back on track.